LOS ANGELES?? Several more cars burned in suspected arson attacks in the Los Angeles area early Saturday morning, and authorities investigated if they were connected to nearly two dozen deliberately set blazes a day earlier, police said.
Seven or eight cars burned Saturday in the North Hollywood area, said officer Robert Collier.
He said the reports started coming in shortly after 1 a.m. PST (4 a.m. ET) and he didn't have further details of the blazes.
But Collier said arson is suspected and there could be a link to the earlier blazes.
Only on msnbc.com
Police: Man may have infected hundreds with HIV
Gingrich becomes tearful speaking about his mother
SC gantlet awaits Iowa and New Hampshire winners
NBC poll: Romney, Paul close in Iowa; Gingrich 5th
Egypt's military: On alert for attack on Christians
South Pole 'miracle': Record heat and snow on Christmas
As Siberian permafrost melts, methane seeps out
LA on edge after Hollywood-area arson fires
"We believe there might be, but we don't know for sure," he told The Associated Press.
Early Friday morning, fires were reported in nearly two dozen locations in Hollywood and the neighboring city of West Hollywood during a four-hour period before dawn. In nearly every case, the fire started in a parked car.
Flames from torched vehicles ignited some nearby houses early Friday, including one once occupied by Doors frontman Jim Morrison.
But Collier said that although some of Saturday's blazes are in carports and garages, he didn't have any reports of damage to buildings.
No arrests made
Police up a command post in the North Hollywood area and have called a tactical alert, allowing them to call in more officers.
No arrests have been made and no injuries reported.
Another car fire was reported around 7 p.m. Friday in an underground garage in Hollywood that fire officials were investigating for possible links to the series of arson blazes. Los Angeles Fire Capt. Jaime Moore said that a connection hasn't been ruled out.
Arson investigators "consider it to be an incendiary fire similar to the fires from this morning," he told The Associated Press.
The new fires broke out even as authorities beefed up patrols and urged the public to remain vigilant overnight.
Officials announced at least $35,000 in rewards for information leading to the conviction of the person or persons responsible.
All of the Friday's fires were in a 2-square mile area and most were in densely populated residential neighborhoods where residents would likely be asleep.
Authorities interviewed witnesses and looked for any video footage that may have captured the person, or people, responsible for the spate of crimes. Investigators from four agencies met for a strategy session, while Los Angeles officials summoned investigators from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Fire officials couldn't say whether the rash of fires was the work of a copycat. There was a series of other arson fires early Thursday, also in Hollywood. Two people have been arrested and remain in custody for those blazes, officials said.
One of the homes was in Laurel Canyon, where Morrison and his girlfriend once lived, neighbors said. The winding road was the inspiration for the Doors' hit "Love Street," and the house was listed for nearly $1.2 million earlier this year, according to real estate website Zillow.com.
Sandy Gendel, who owns a nearby restaurant, said he heard explosions from what he later determined were likely car tires. He saw flames 30 feet high coming from the deck of the former Morrison house and a gutted Mazda Miata.
"It was just like a towering inferno," Gendel said.
Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Jaime Moore said it is plausible that one person in a car, on a motorcycle or on a bike could have set all the fires, considering the limited area the blazes broke out in.
Hollywood is served by the Los Angeles city police and fire departments. Adjacent West Hollywood is a separately incorporated city served by the Los Angeles County fire and sheriff's departments.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
We dug into ESPN's use of the Xbox 360 and EA Sports games to power its Virtual Playbook segments last year, but in preparation for this round of BCS bowl games it's upgraded the system with a bit of augmented reality. The new GameView system uses a tabletop 70-inch touchscreen LCD, a copy of NCAA Football '12 and four dedicated workstations to blend everything together and create a simulation for viewers to see the analysts move virtual players around the field. It should at least be more interesting than CNN's previous election coverage implementation, although we're mostly wondering when a combo of Kinect, Surface and old school electronic football will bring the experience directly to our living rooms to play around with. Check out the gallery for a few more screens and expect to see this implemented more during the upcoming big time bowl games -- no, there's no secret code Desmond Howard can input to get a national championship game between two college football teams that haven't already played each other, we asked.
Jamie Redknapp has lavished praise on Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Sandro following the Brazilian's impressive display at Carrow Road on Tuesday night.
The prodigiously gifted holding midfielder has had to bide his time at Tottenham this season after injuries curtailed his involvement earlier in the year.
The aforementioned Sky Sports pundit, who is also the son of Spurs' boss Harry Redknapp, believes the form of Scott Parker has inevitably inhibited Sandro's starts for Tottenham this season but he claims the towering 22-year-old is ideally suited to Premier League football.
Redknapp believes Sandro is now worthy of a starting berth at Tottenham and intimates the midfield trio of Parker, Modric and the Brazilian could prove a hugely potent asset as the north London Premier League club bid to sustain their title challenge.
"Sandro has had to be patient for his chances this season with Scott Parker in such outstanding form." Redknapp told the Daily mail, while discussing Tottenham's midfield Brazilian. "He hurt his knee playing for Brazil in the summer and then found himself out of the Spurs side.
Like us on Facebook
"He's a powerhouse of a player who is suited to the English game. He cuts out danger, gets around the pitch and could even play at centre half.
"He's tall, quick and strong, and will be a regular for his country. Spurs need to give him regular games. As last night showed, Parker, Luka Modric and Sandro work so well together." The former Spurs midfielder concluded.
Last night's victory ensured Tottenham maintained the pace behind joint leaders Manchester City and Manchester United. Harry Redknapp's side are just seven points behind and have a game in hand over their rivals.?
To report problems or to leave feedback about this article, e-mail: To contact the editor, e-mail:
Ingin ga gaptek? Dapatkan berita teknologi terbaru di FB/Twittermu!
By dedenz on
December 29th, 2011
Walaupun terjadi banyak pertentangan dengan fitur terbaru dari Facebook, Timeline, Namun Facebook akan membawa fitur barunya tersebut ke dalam iPad setelah pertengahan Januari nanti.
Seelumnya, fitur ini sendiri sudah tersedia di aplikasi Facebook untuk iPhone pada update Desember lalu. Meskipun sekarang aplikasi Facebook untuk iOS bersifat universal, namun antar muka pada iPad belum mendapatkan dukungan Timeline.
Timeline seharusnya tiba di iPad bulan Desember, namun ditunda karena beberapa faktor. Faktor penyebab penundaannya adalah ?bug dan persetujuan dari Apple untuk penyediaan fitur Timeline di iPad. Rencananya akhir Januari adalah target selanjutnya.
Seperti telah dijelaskan sebelumnya, Timeline adalah cara baru melihat konten profile pengguna Facebook. Semua konten pengguna terorganisir secara kronologis menurut waktu, termasuk status update, foto dan interaksi lainnya. Untuk sekarang ini Timeline masih opsional dan belum semua pengguna Facebook menggunakan fitur ini.
Welcome to your Personalized User Bar. Here, you can manage your account, sign up for newsletters, navigate to site sections, and share interesting content on social networks. You also can receive alerts on upcoming events, new products, or subscription/account activities.
BEIJING?? Rescuers have pulled 42 more miners to the surface and are searching for several more who were trapped after a cave-in at a coal mine in central China.
State broadcaster CCTV says the 42 were saved Saturday, more than 36 hours after an accident in the mine in the city of Samenxia in Henan province.
Seven other miners were rescued Friday. Four were killed.
CCTV showed rescuers with helmets and oxygen tanks carrying the miners out of the mine shaft to ambulances. The miners lay on stretchers, wrapped with blankets with their eyes covered by towels to prevent them from being damaged by the sudden exposure to light after hours of being trapped.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
BEIJING (AP) ? Rescuers pulled seven injured miners to the surface Friday and were trying to reach 50 others trapped after a cave-in at a coal mine in central China, state media reported.
Four miners were killed when the cave-in blasted rock into the mine shaft Thursday evening and 14 managed to escape, the official Xinhua News Agency said. The rock explosion happened just after a small earthquake shook near the mine in the city of Sanmenxia in Henan province.
State broadcaster CCTV showed rescuers with helmets and oxygen tanks carrying the seven found alive Friday afternoon from a mine elevator as waiting officials applauded and medical staff rushed to attend to them.
The rescued miners lay on stretchers, wrapped with blankets with their eyes covered by towels to prevent them from being damaged by the sudden exposure to light after hours of being trapped.
Xinhua said six had minor injuries but one was seriously hurt.
At least 200 workers were digging a small rescue tunnel about 1,650 feet (500 meters) deep to try to reach the trapped miners, the People's Daily newspaper said. There have been no reports of communication with the trapped miners.
Only on msnbc.com
Cain: I'm a Koch 'brother from another mother'
FDA: Moldy applesauce repackaged by school lunch supplier
Is Burma breaking out of China's embrace?
Rock Center: Growing pains for ND boomtown
Muslim cab drivers save Jewish bagel shop
Migrants' woes: bed bugs, foul toilets, illness
Have Berlusconi's nine lives expired?
The mine belongs to Yima Coal Group, a large state-owned coal company in Henan, the State Administration of Work Safety said on its website.
Luo Lin, head of the administration, said a magnitude-2.9 earthquake occurred near the mine shortly before a "rock burst" was reported.
The phenomenon occurs when settling earth bears down on mine walls and causes a sudden release of stored energy. The exploding chunks of coal and rock, or the shock waves alone, can be lethal.
Survival depends on the intensity of the rock explosion and if ventilation can be provided, a local official told The Associated Press.
"If it was not very strong, it might have caused the tunnel to get narrower, but we might still be able to send some air in there to ensure ventilation," said the Yima city Communist Party's head of propaganda, who would give only his surname, Tian, as is common with Chinese officials.
"But if the impact was pretty strong and caused the tunnel walls to collapse, then the ventilation was probably cut off immediately, suffocating the people trapped there," he said.
Tian said it was difficult to determine how deep in the mine the trapped workers were.
According to Xinhua, workers were digging a tunnel about 2,500 feet (760 meters) long, but after the rock burst, the tunnel appeared to have "basically folded" a little more than halfway down the passage, at 1,580 feet (480 meters). It was unclear what the condition of the tunnel was beyond that point, Xinhua said.
China's coal mines are the deadliest in the world, although the industry's safety record has improved in recent years as smaller, illegal mines have been closed. Annual fatalities are now about one-third of the high of nearly 7,000 in 2002.
Last Sunday, a gas explosion at a coal mine in central China's Hunan province killed 29 workers, the worst accident in recent months.
___
Gillian Wong can be reached at http://twitter.com/gillianwong
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
BOSTON (AP) ? The author of a newspaper column suggesting the devil may be responsible for homosexuality has resigned from his job with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
A spokeswoman for the Roman Catholic bishops said Friday that Daniel Avila offered to step down and his resignation was accepted Friday.
Avila's column appeared a week ago in The Pilot, the official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Boston. Avila had written that there's evidence suggesting the devil is responsible for same-sex attraction. Gay rights groups and others condemned the column.
The newspaper withdrew the article from its website Wednesday. Avila apologized for any pain the column caused. He said his views did not represent the position of the bishops' conference.
Avila had worked on policy and research for the bishops in Washington.
LAS VEGAS ?? A dinosaur best known as an egg thief may have also been a showy diva with a feathery tail like the fan of a flamenco dancer, a new study finds.
Oviraptor dinosaurs lived in the late Cretaceous Period, about 75 million years ago. They got their name, Latin for "egg thief," because the first specimen was found near a clutch of eggs as if the beast were stealing them; later discoveries revealed that the eggs were likely the oviraptor's own, though the dinosaur's diet, and whether it included eggs, is mostly unknown.
But the new research finds that whatever they ate, oviraptorids were experts at shaking their tail feather. The dinosaurs have unusually compact, flexible tails, said study researcher Scott Persons, a doctoral student at the University of Alberta. Combined with a fan of feathers attached to the tail's end, this would have enabled Oviraptor to put on a show similar to that of a modern-day peacock.?
Persons, who presented his research Wednesday here at the Society for Vertebrate Paleontology's annual meeting, began studying the tails of various species of Oviraptor as part of a larger study on the tails of all theropods, a group of dinosaurs related closely to modern-day birds. Oviraptors are interesting, Persons told LiveScience, because they have very odd tails with a strange arrangement of bones.
More science news from MSNBC Tech & Science
Genes tell a tale as big as Africa
Science editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: An African-American's family tale grows in the telling, thanks to genetic testing and a whole lot of trans-Atlantic travel.
Fall back: Time to reset your biological clock
Flirty dinosaur could shake its tail feathers
Three new heavy elements named
"The tail of an Oviraptor by comparison to the tail of most other dinosaurs is pretty darn short," he said. "But it's not short in that it's missing a whole bunch of vertebrae, it's short in that the individual vertebra within the tail themselves are sort of squashed together. So they're densely packed."
That dense bone arrangement would have made the tails especially flexible, Persons said, in the same way that a person's spine with its many bone junctions can move more sinuously than an arm, which has only a couple of joints.
In addition, comparison with the tails of modern-day reptiles suggests that oviraptorids had particularly muscular tails, Persons said. Fossil impressions reveal that oviraptorids also came equipped with a fan of feathers at the end of their tails, attached to a hunk of fused vertebrae not unlike those found in the tails of modern-day birds.
"If you combine that with having a muscular, very flexible tail, what you have is a tail that could, potentially at least, have been used to flaunt, to wave that tail-feather fan," Persons said.
And just like modern-day birds, oviraptorids may well have flashed their tail fans to impress potential mates.
"If you think about things like peacocks, they often use their tails in courtship displays," Persons said.
You can follow LiveScience? senior writer Stephanie Pappas on Twitter @sipappas. Follow LiveScience for the latest in science news and discoveries on Twitter @livescience? and on Facebook.
UA scientists find evidence of Roman period megadrought Public release date: 4-Nov-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Daniel Stolte stolte@email.arizona.edu 520-626-4402 University of Arizona
A new study at the University of Arizona's Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research has revealed a previously unknown multi-decade drought period in the second century A.D.
Almost nine hundred years ago, in the mid-12th century, the southwestern U.S. was in the middle of a multi-decade megadrought. It was the most recent extended period of severe drought known for this region. But it was not the first.
The second century A.D. saw an extended dry period of more than 100 years characterized by a multi-decade drought lasting nearly 50 years, says a new study from scientists at the University of Arizona.
UA geoscientists Cody Routson, Connie Woodhouse and Jonathan Overpeck conducted a study of the southern San Juan Mountains in south-central Colorado. The region serves as a primary drainage site for the Rio Grande and San Juan rivers.
"These mountains are very important for both the San Juan River and the Rio Grande River," said Routson, a doctoral candidate in the environmental studies laboratory of the UA's department of geosciences and the primary author of the study, which is upcoming in Geophysical Research Letters.
The San Juan River is a tributary for the Colorado River, meaning any climate changes that affect the San Juan drainage also likely would affect the Colorado River and its watershed. Said Routson: "We wanted to develop as long a record as possible for that region."
Dendrochronology is a precise science of using annual growth rings of trees to understand climate in the past. Because trees add a normally clearly defined growth ring around their trunk each year, counting the rings backwards from a tree's bark allows scientists to determine not only the age of the tree, but which years were good for growth and which years were more difficult.
"If it's a wet year, they grow a wide ring, and if it's a dry year, they grow a narrow ring," said Routson. "If you average that pattern across trees in a region you can develop a chronology that shows what years were drier or wetter for that particular region."
Darker wood, referred to as latewood because it develops in the latter part of the year at the end of the growing season, forms a usually distinct boundary between one ring and the next. The latewood is darker because growth at the end of the growing season has slowed and the cells are more compact.
To develop their chronology, the researchers looked for indications of climate in the past in the growth rings of the oldest trees in the southern San Juan region. "We drove around and looked for old trees," said Routson.
Literally nothing is older than a bristlecone pine tree: The oldest and longest-living species on the planet, these pine trees normally are found clinging to bare rocky landscapes of alpine or near-alpine mountain slopes. The trees, the oldest of which are more than 4,000 years old, are capable of withstanding extreme drought conditions.
"We did a lot of hiking and found a couple of sites of bristlecone pines, and one in particular that we honed in on," said Routson.
To sample the trees without damaging them, the dendrochronologists used a tool like a metal screw that bores a tiny hole in the trunk of the tree and allows them to extract a sample, called a core. "We take a piece of wood about the size and shape of a pencil from the tree," explained Routson.
"We also sampled dead wood that was lying about the land. We took our samples back to the lab where we used a visual, graphic technique to match where the annual growth patterns of the living trees overlap with the patterns in the dead wood. Once we have the pattern matched we measure the rings and average these values to generate a site chronology."
"In our chronology for the south San Juan mountains we created a record that extends back 2,200 years," said Routson. "It was pretty profound that we were able to get back that far."
The chronology extends many years earlier than the medieval period, during which two major drought events in that region already were known from previous chronologies.
"The medieval period extends roughly from 800 to 1300 A.D.," said Routson. "During that period there was a lot of evidence from previous studies for increased aridity, in particular two major droughts: one in the middle of the 12th century, and one at the end of the 13th century."
"Very few records are long enough to assess the global conditions associated with these two periods of Southwestern aridity," said Routson. "And the available records have uncertainties."
But the chronology from the San Juan bristlecone pines showed something completely new:
"There was another period of increased aridity even earlier," said Routson. "This new record shows that in addition to known droughts from the medieval period, there is also evidence for an earlier megadrought during the second century A.D."
"What we can see from our record is that it was a period of basically 50 consecutive years of below-average growth," said Routson. "And that's within a much broader period that extends from around 124 A.D. to 210 A.D. about a 100-year-long period of dry conditions."
"We're showing that there are multiple extreme drought events that happened during our past in this region," said Routson. "These megadroughts lasted for decades, which is much longer than our current drought. And the climatic events behind these previous dry periods are really similar to what we're experiencing today."
The prolonged drought in the 12th century and the newly discovered event in the second century A.D. may both have been influenced by warmer-than-average Northern Hemisphere temperatures, Routson said: "The limited records indicate there may have been similar La Nina-like background conditions in the tropical Pacific Ocean, which are known to influence modern drought, during the two periods."
Although natural climate variation has led to extended dry periods in the southwestern U.S. in the past, there is reason to believe that human-driven climate change will increase the frequency of extreme droughts in the future, said Routson. In other words, we should expect similar multi-decade droughts in a future predicted to be even warmer than the past.
###
Routson's research is funded by fellowships from the National Science Foundation and the Science Foundation Arizona. His advisors, Woodhouse of the School of Geography and Development and Overpeck of the department of geosciences and co-director of the UA's Institute of the Environment, are co-authors of the study.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
UA scientists find evidence of Roman period megadrought Public release date: 4-Nov-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Daniel Stolte stolte@email.arizona.edu 520-626-4402 University of Arizona
A new study at the University of Arizona's Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research has revealed a previously unknown multi-decade drought period in the second century A.D.
Almost nine hundred years ago, in the mid-12th century, the southwestern U.S. was in the middle of a multi-decade megadrought. It was the most recent extended period of severe drought known for this region. But it was not the first.
The second century A.D. saw an extended dry period of more than 100 years characterized by a multi-decade drought lasting nearly 50 years, says a new study from scientists at the University of Arizona.
UA geoscientists Cody Routson, Connie Woodhouse and Jonathan Overpeck conducted a study of the southern San Juan Mountains in south-central Colorado. The region serves as a primary drainage site for the Rio Grande and San Juan rivers.
"These mountains are very important for both the San Juan River and the Rio Grande River," said Routson, a doctoral candidate in the environmental studies laboratory of the UA's department of geosciences and the primary author of the study, which is upcoming in Geophysical Research Letters.
The San Juan River is a tributary for the Colorado River, meaning any climate changes that affect the San Juan drainage also likely would affect the Colorado River and its watershed. Said Routson: "We wanted to develop as long a record as possible for that region."
Dendrochronology is a precise science of using annual growth rings of trees to understand climate in the past. Because trees add a normally clearly defined growth ring around their trunk each year, counting the rings backwards from a tree's bark allows scientists to determine not only the age of the tree, but which years were good for growth and which years were more difficult.
"If it's a wet year, they grow a wide ring, and if it's a dry year, they grow a narrow ring," said Routson. "If you average that pattern across trees in a region you can develop a chronology that shows what years were drier or wetter for that particular region."
Darker wood, referred to as latewood because it develops in the latter part of the year at the end of the growing season, forms a usually distinct boundary between one ring and the next. The latewood is darker because growth at the end of the growing season has slowed and the cells are more compact.
To develop their chronology, the researchers looked for indications of climate in the past in the growth rings of the oldest trees in the southern San Juan region. "We drove around and looked for old trees," said Routson.
Literally nothing is older than a bristlecone pine tree: The oldest and longest-living species on the planet, these pine trees normally are found clinging to bare rocky landscapes of alpine or near-alpine mountain slopes. The trees, the oldest of which are more than 4,000 years old, are capable of withstanding extreme drought conditions.
"We did a lot of hiking and found a couple of sites of bristlecone pines, and one in particular that we honed in on," said Routson.
To sample the trees without damaging them, the dendrochronologists used a tool like a metal screw that bores a tiny hole in the trunk of the tree and allows them to extract a sample, called a core. "We take a piece of wood about the size and shape of a pencil from the tree," explained Routson.
"We also sampled dead wood that was lying about the land. We took our samples back to the lab where we used a visual, graphic technique to match where the annual growth patterns of the living trees overlap with the patterns in the dead wood. Once we have the pattern matched we measure the rings and average these values to generate a site chronology."
"In our chronology for the south San Juan mountains we created a record that extends back 2,200 years," said Routson. "It was pretty profound that we were able to get back that far."
The chronology extends many years earlier than the medieval period, during which two major drought events in that region already were known from previous chronologies.
"The medieval period extends roughly from 800 to 1300 A.D.," said Routson. "During that period there was a lot of evidence from previous studies for increased aridity, in particular two major droughts: one in the middle of the 12th century, and one at the end of the 13th century."
"Very few records are long enough to assess the global conditions associated with these two periods of Southwestern aridity," said Routson. "And the available records have uncertainties."
But the chronology from the San Juan bristlecone pines showed something completely new:
"There was another period of increased aridity even earlier," said Routson. "This new record shows that in addition to known droughts from the medieval period, there is also evidence for an earlier megadrought during the second century A.D."
"What we can see from our record is that it was a period of basically 50 consecutive years of below-average growth," said Routson. "And that's within a much broader period that extends from around 124 A.D. to 210 A.D. about a 100-year-long period of dry conditions."
"We're showing that there are multiple extreme drought events that happened during our past in this region," said Routson. "These megadroughts lasted for decades, which is much longer than our current drought. And the climatic events behind these previous dry periods are really similar to what we're experiencing today."
The prolonged drought in the 12th century and the newly discovered event in the second century A.D. may both have been influenced by warmer-than-average Northern Hemisphere temperatures, Routson said: "The limited records indicate there may have been similar La Nina-like background conditions in the tropical Pacific Ocean, which are known to influence modern drought, during the two periods."
Although natural climate variation has led to extended dry periods in the southwestern U.S. in the past, there is reason to believe that human-driven climate change will increase the frequency of extreme droughts in the future, said Routson. In other words, we should expect similar multi-decade droughts in a future predicted to be even warmer than the past.
###
Routson's research is funded by fellowships from the National Science Foundation and the Science Foundation Arizona. His advisors, Woodhouse of the School of Geography and Development and Overpeck of the department of geosciences and co-director of the UA's Institute of the Environment, are co-authors of the study.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
We've loved Commodore USA'sC64 computer recreations ever since it began producing them back in 2010. Much to our delight, the company recently outed its third variant, the C64x Extreme. This unit features the '80s flair we've come to appreciate, but supercharged to 2011 spec. Crammed inside its case is a 2.2GHz Intel core i7 quad-core CPU (capable of turbo boosting to 3.3GHz), 8GB of DDR3 RAM, Intel HD integrated graphics and a spacious 2TB HDD. Externally, you'll find a duo of USB 3.0 ports, a triplet of USB 2.0 ports and an eSATA connection, along with HDMI, 3.5mm S/PDIF, VGA and DVI ports for A/V hookups. Best of all, it's loaded with Bluetooth, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, an Ethernet port and even a DVD-RW drive on its side. The C64X-Ex will initially come loaded with Linux Mint 11, and it'll fully support Windows once the company's "retro inspired" Commodore OS Vision becomes available. Of course, the C64x-Ex's blend of vintage looks and modern-day power will cost ya -- to a tune of $1,500. If that's cool by your books, Commodore USA plans to ship orders placed by November 25th before December 15th. Full press release after the break.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. ? For 20 years, Abdurrahim el-Keib taught electrical engineering at the University of Alabama, helped lead the area's Muslim community and talked little about his home country of Libya. With Moammar Gadhafi's regime deposed, the professor now has a new role as prime minister of his homeland.
El-Keib was elected to the post late Monday by Libya's National Transitional Council and will replace outgoing interim Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril, who had promised to step down after victory over Gadhafi's dictatorship. His selection suggests the country's interim rulers may be seeking out a government leader palatable both to the West and to Libyans who distrust anyone connected to the former regime.
El-Keib holds a doctorate in electrical engineering from North Carolina State University, where he also taught, and moved to Alabama in 1985, according to a biography posted by a former employer, the Petroleum Institute in the United Arab Emirates.
Online documents show el-Keib was at the University of Alabama for 20 years, becoming involved with the Faculty Senate and serving as a speaker representing Muslims to other faith communities in the city after the 9/11 terror attacks on New York and Washington.
The professor spoke at a Christian church in Tuscaloosa about the beliefs of Muslims in January 2002, and longtime friend Mirza Beg said el-Keib helped raise money for a new Islamic center that opened in Tuscaloosa more than a decade ago, near the university's football stadium.
"He was the leading force behind it," said Beg, a chemist with the groundwater assessment program at the Geological Survey of Alabama. "Some people have a knack for management. He collected money for it from friends, from people here, from people in the Mideast, from all over."
Beg, a native of India, said he and el-Keib worked together on the project and became better friends after the 9/11 attacks as they served as informal liaisons between Tuscaloosa's Muslims and people of other faiths.
Beg said he knew el-Keib had "political abilities," but he said his friend rarely discussed Libya.
"The reasons were obvious. It was a dictatorship, and it was not comfortable for him to talk about because his extended family lived there," Beg said.
El-Keib lived in the United States for more than 30 years during Gadhafi's reign, Beg said, and the two men had little contact since el-Keib left the university in 2005. He later worked as a professor and chairman of the electrical engineering department at The Petroleum Institute, according to the resume posted by the school.
Tim Haskew, who worked with el-Keib at the University of Alabama and is now interim head of its electrical engineering department, said el-Keib was "well-received" by students there.
"He took care of his classes, did his contract work, graduated his students," Haskew said.
While el-Keib was at North Carolina State University, his adviser John Grainger recalled him as a devout Muslim who dedicated his doctoral thesis to Allah. El-Keib talked little about the politics of his homeland and never visited Libya during his time in Raleigh, Grainger told The Associated Press by telephone.
"He was afraid to go back to Libya," Grainger said. "He would go to Morocco and his family would meet him for visits. We never got into any big discussion about why he was afraid. All he said was the environment wasn't good for him there."
Grainger recalled visiting el-Keib's home during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when el-Keib and his wife would serve food to guests but not eat until it was time to break the daily fast.
"He does carry himself very well," Grainger added. "He was quite a debonair fellow in the sense of being refined."
When Grainger heard that his former student had been named prime minister of the new government, it gave him hope that the post-Ghadafi forces in the country were serious about finding capable leaders. Still, he knows el-Keib has a formidable challenge ahead.
"He's a quiet fellow but he really did have a great sense of humor," Grainger said. "And that's what he's going to need from now on."
___
Associated Press writers Jay Reeves in Birmingham, Ala., and Tom Breen in Raleigh, N.C., contributed to this report.
KEY WEST, Fla. ? A small jet carrying the owner of NASCAR's top team and his wife lost its brakes and crash landed at a Key West, Fla., airport Monday evening, and the couple suffered minor injuries, officials said.
The Gulfstream 150 aircraft ran off the runway at the Key West International Airport Monday at 7:45 p.m. Rick and Linda Hendrick, a pilot and co-pilot were all taken to Lower Keys Medical Centers. The Hendricks had minor injuries and the pilot and co-pilot were taken in as a precaution, said county airport director Peter Horton.
The plane is registered to Jimmie Johnson Racing II Incorporated in Charlotte, N.C. Johnson is a five-time defending NASCAR champion and drives for Hendrick Motorsports, which Rick Hendrick owns.
Besides Johnson, Hendrick also fields cars for four-time champion Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Mark Martin. The team recently celebrated its 199th career victory in the Sprint Cup Series.
"It was a real big scare. Very frightening to hear," Earnhardt told reporters in Las Vegas, where he was attending the annual SEMA show, which showcases automotive specialty-equipment. "I'm very glad that he and everybody appears to be OK."
In 2004, a plane Hendrick owned crashed en route to a race in Martinsville, Va., killing all 10 onboard. That included Hendrick's son, Ricky, his brother and twin nieces.
According to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office, the pilot and co-pilot radioed that the plane had no brakes upon landing in Key West. Horton said the plane ran off the runway, and then 100 feet beyond a 600-foot safety area that was finished in May.
"If we hadn't done that, it likely would have been a different story," Horton said of the safety area that is meant as a runway overrun space.
Photographs of the crash show the plane largely intact and with its nose resting on the ground about 20 feet in front of a chain-linked airport boundary fence.
The National Transportation and Safety Board will investigate the cause of the crash.
Lucky for us — and our fellow "Twilight" fans — MTV News is making the wait a little less painful by celebrating the film's release month with tons of exciting exclusives, beginning with "MTV First: Breaking Dawn" Thursday at 7:56 p.m. ET, when Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner will bring us a clip from the movie and sit down for Q&A on MTV.com.
In the meantime, we asked "Twilight" fans to vote for their top five favorite "Twilight Saga" moments, and we're happy to announce the fifth favorite clip: Edward and Jacob's tent scene from "Eclipse."
In this delightfully entertaining scene, Edward (Pattinson) has to suck up his dislike for Jacob (Lautner) and let the werewolf snuggle with Bella (Stewart) in a sleeping bag in order to prevent her from freezing to death. It is a magical moment during which the two rivals share a few words of friendly banter and almost admiration, including the following quotes: "I'm hotter than you," "Can you at least attempt to control your thoughts?" and "If we weren't natural enemies, and you weren't trying to steal my reason for existing, I might actually like you."
In addition to re-watching that scene, there's a great behind-the-scenes interview on the "Eclipse" DVD that features Pattinson and Stewart providing a hilarious bit of commentary about that scene.
"God, he's so gross. So brazen!" Pattinson says in the clip. "I really don't like Jacob."
"Aww," Stewart says.
"Look at him and his tattoo and stuff. Ugh," Pattinson scoffs.
"He's just young and overzealous," Stewart adds, in defense of the young wolf.
"He's not!" Pattinson insists. "He does it on purpose. He's looking at me when he's saying this stuff."
Be sure to tune in to "MTV First: Breaking Dawn - Part 1," which kicks off Thursday, November 3, on MTV at 7:56 p.m, followed by a Q&A with Kristen, Rob and Taylor on MTV.com!
It seems with each passing day, Louis Leterrier again raises the stakes on his high concept heist flick ?Now You See Me.? With a cast that already includes Mark Ruffalo, Jesse Eisenberg, Morgan Freeman, Isla Fisher, Melanie Laurent, Woody Harrelson and Dave Franco, it?s now getting a dose of English class.
We?ve confirmed the report from Moviehole that Michael Caine is joining the film. Penned by Boaz Yakin (?Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time,? ?Fresh?) and newcomer Edward Ricourt, the story follows a crack FBI squad in a game of cat-and-mouse against a super team of the world?s greatest illusionists, who pull off a series of daring bank heists during their performances and shower the profits onto their audiences. We?ve learned that Caine will play the role of Arthur Tressler, the magicians? sponsor.
There are still more bits and pieces to come on the film so stay tuned. But its certainly gearing up to be one of the more intriguing projects on the horizon. ?Now You See Me? will hit theaters on January 18, 2013.
Great cast.? So far everything we?ve heard is shaping up tp be great so why have Summit given it such a crap release date.? Isn?t early January the dumping ground for movies?
Commuting - bad for your health?Public release date: 30-Oct-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Dr Hilary Glover hilary.glover@biomedcentral.com 44-020-319-22370 BioMed Central
A mobile workforce can help improve a country's economy but the effects of commuting on the health of commuters and on the costs to industry in terms of sick days is largely unknown. From a commuter's point of view, the advantages of daily travel, such as a better paid job or better housing conditions, need to be weighed against adverse health effects. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Public Health shows that commuting by car or public transport, compared to walking or cycling, is associated with negative effects on health.
Researchers from Lund University looked at 21,000 people, aged between 18 and 65, who worked more than 30 hours a week and commuted either by car, train or bus, or were active commuters, who travelled by walking or cycling. 'One way' journey time was compared to the volunteer's perceived general health, including sleep quality, exhaustion and everyday stress.
Erik Hansson from the Faculty of Medicine at Lund University explained, "Generally car and public transport users suffered more everyday stress, poorer sleep quality, exhaustion and, on a seven point scale, felt that they struggled with their health compared to the active commuters. The negative health of public transport users increased with journey time. However, the car drivers who commuted 30 60 minutes experienced worse health than those whose journey lasted more than one hour. "
Erik continued "One explanation for the discrepancy between car and public transport users might be that long-distance car commuting, within our geographical region, could provide more of an opportunity for relaxation. However, it could be that these drivers tended to be men, and high-income earners, who travelled in from rural areas, a group that generally consider themselves to be in good health. More research needs to be done to identify how exactly commuting is related to the ill health we observed in order to readdress the balance between economic needs, health, and the costs of working days lost."
###
Media Contact
Dr Hilary Glover
Scientific Press Officer, BioMed Central
1. Detection Relationship between commuting and health outcomes in a cross-sectional population survey in southern Sweden
Erik Hansson, Kristoffer Mattisson, Jonas Bjork, Per-Olof Ostergren and Kristina Jakobsson,
BMC Public Health (in press)
Please name the journal in any story you write. If you are writing for the web, please link to the article. All articles are available free of charge, according to BioMed Central's open access policy.
Article citation and URL available on request at press@biomedcentral.com on the day of publication.
2. BMC Public Health is an open access journal publishing original peer-reviewed research articles in the epidemiology of disease and the understanding of all aspects of public health. The journal has a special focus on the social determinants of health, the environmental, behavioral, and occupational correlates of health and disease, and the impact of health policies, practices and interventions on the community.
3. BioMed Central (http://www.biomedcentral.com/) is an STM (Science, Technology and Medicine) publisher which has pioneered the open access publishing model. All peer-reviewed research articles published by BioMed Central are made immediately and freely accessible online, and are licensed to allow redistribution and reuse. BioMed Central is part of Springer Science+Business Media, a leading global publisher in the STM sector.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Commuting - bad for your health?Public release date: 30-Oct-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Dr Hilary Glover hilary.glover@biomedcentral.com 44-020-319-22370 BioMed Central
A mobile workforce can help improve a country's economy but the effects of commuting on the health of commuters and on the costs to industry in terms of sick days is largely unknown. From a commuter's point of view, the advantages of daily travel, such as a better paid job or better housing conditions, need to be weighed against adverse health effects. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Public Health shows that commuting by car or public transport, compared to walking or cycling, is associated with negative effects on health.
Researchers from Lund University looked at 21,000 people, aged between 18 and 65, who worked more than 30 hours a week and commuted either by car, train or bus, or were active commuters, who travelled by walking or cycling. 'One way' journey time was compared to the volunteer's perceived general health, including sleep quality, exhaustion and everyday stress.
Erik Hansson from the Faculty of Medicine at Lund University explained, "Generally car and public transport users suffered more everyday stress, poorer sleep quality, exhaustion and, on a seven point scale, felt that they struggled with their health compared to the active commuters. The negative health of public transport users increased with journey time. However, the car drivers who commuted 30 60 minutes experienced worse health than those whose journey lasted more than one hour. "
Erik continued "One explanation for the discrepancy between car and public transport users might be that long-distance car commuting, within our geographical region, could provide more of an opportunity for relaxation. However, it could be that these drivers tended to be men, and high-income earners, who travelled in from rural areas, a group that generally consider themselves to be in good health. More research needs to be done to identify how exactly commuting is related to the ill health we observed in order to readdress the balance between economic needs, health, and the costs of working days lost."
###
Media Contact
Dr Hilary Glover
Scientific Press Officer, BioMed Central
1. Detection Relationship between commuting and health outcomes in a cross-sectional population survey in southern Sweden
Erik Hansson, Kristoffer Mattisson, Jonas Bjork, Per-Olof Ostergren and Kristina Jakobsson,
BMC Public Health (in press)
Please name the journal in any story you write. If you are writing for the web, please link to the article. All articles are available free of charge, according to BioMed Central's open access policy.
Article citation and URL available on request at press@biomedcentral.com on the day of publication.
2. BMC Public Health is an open access journal publishing original peer-reviewed research articles in the epidemiology of disease and the understanding of all aspects of public health. The journal has a special focus on the social determinants of health, the environmental, behavioral, and occupational correlates of health and disease, and the impact of health policies, practices and interventions on the community.
3. BioMed Central (http://www.biomedcentral.com/) is an STM (Science, Technology and Medicine) publisher which has pioneered the open access publishing model. All peer-reviewed research articles published by BioMed Central are made immediately and freely accessible online, and are licensed to allow redistribution and reuse. BioMed Central is part of Springer Science+Business Media, a leading global publisher in the STM sector.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
A little cajoling from a clever developer got Siri talking to the iPhone 4 and the iPad, but Apple's tight-lipped servers kept the conversation effectively one-sided. The last-gen port was still missing something, and developer Steven Troughton-Smith knew where to find it: a jailbroken iPhone 4S. In an interview with 9to5mac, Troughton-Smith said that getting Siri to talk to Cupertino's data servers only took ten minutes after he had all of the pieces in place. Ready for your personal assistant port? Hold the phone, the process is a bit dodgy -- our hacking hero said that getting Siri on the older device is a 20-step process, and it requires files from the iPhone 4S that he says aren't his to distribute. When asked about distributing the hack over Cydia, Troughton-Smith said it was something he couldn't be a part of. On Twitter he suggested that a release would "anger the hive," but promised to post detailed notes on the hack after a iPhone 4S jailbreak drops.
If a duck quacks in the forest and no investor is around to hear it, does it make a noise? The answer appears to be a resounding yes!
In its ongoing battle against major medical, supplemental insurance giant Aflac (NYSE: AFL - News) once again looks like it's delivered another knockout earnings report.
Aflac derives three-quarters of its revenue from Japan, so as you can imagine, following the tragic earthquakes in Japan in March, the company's bottom line suffered. As Japan's people recover from the disaster, so has Aflac -- and in a big way.
First, prospects in Europe are improving, which is an immediate boost to Aflac since it has a chunk of its investment portfolio tied to European debt. Today's negotiated debt deal, while not a white knight to the European debt debacle, is a step in the right direction to stabilizing the region's financial system. During the first half of 2011, Aflac was forced to realize $1 billion in losses tied to its European investments. With Europe's outlook beginning to brighten, Aflac's investment portfolio should receive a nice boost.
Even though Aflac's quarterly report was skewed by favorable currency translations from the yen into U.S dollars, the underlying figures behind its growth are unmistakably bullish. For such a large insurance company, a 22% jump in annualized premium sales in Japan can only be described as remarkable. Even its U.S sales have been strong with investment income jumping by 8.5% during the quarter.
But let's not beat around the bush here. The real reason investors should be jumping at the chance to own Aflac is because it puts shareholders first. Aflac announced its 29th consecutive annual dividend increase to $0.33 per share, payable to shareholders in the fourth quarter. This places Aflac, even after yesterday's near-10% pop, at a very tempting 2.8% yield.
Perhaps more impressive, Aflac continues to reinvest in its business and its shareholders' future. Aflac anticipates spending $300 million on share repurchases in 2011 and expects this number to double in 2012 to $600 million -- but wait, I'm not done. The company also projects this figure could yet again double to more than $1 billion in share buybacks in 2013. Twenty-nine years of increasing dividends and increasing share buybacks -- now that's confidence in your business.
The crazy thing is that even after yesterday's meteoric move higher, Aflac is still cheaply valued at just over 7 times forward earnings. It boasts better operating margins than rivals MetLife (NYSE: MET - News), and Sun Life Financial (NYSE: SLF - News), while offering a higher dividend yield than both Prudential Financial (NYSE: PRU - News) and Primerica (NYSE: PRI - News).
My advice is that if this duck quacks, you listen!
Fool contributorTMFUltraLongand on Twitter, where he goes by the handle@TMFUltraLong. The Motley Fool owns shares of Aflac.Motley Fool newsletter serviceshave recommended buying shares of Aflac. Try any of our Foolish newsletter servicesfree for 30 days. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policythat pays its shareholders in transparency.
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 4-Nov-2011
Share ] 
